The volume addresses the ways that the field of adult basic education has already been impacted by changes in technology and what needs to happen for learners and teachers to take full advantage of newly developing resources. The analysis is organized around three main themes: Learning, Teaching, and Organizing. Each section reviews relevant…

Provides a report of the obstacles faced by adult basic education students, and describes educators' lack of concrete knowledge about adult learning processes and appropriate instructional programs. (Author/KS)

In the various stages of learning to read and write, certain prerequisite skills are essential for further growth to occur. The article describes these and elaborates on the characteristics unique to the disadvantaged adult that must be kept in mind if a successful communications program is to be developed. (Author)

In 2002-03, a qualitative study examined the experiences of 70 stakeholders connected to two community-based adult literacy programs in Manitoba, Canada. Self-directed learning was one of several elements that these research participants considered essential to the learning process. These literacy stakeholders defined self-directed learning as a…

In response to implications raised by earlier research in the field, a study investigated the learning projects (as defined by Allen Tough, 1971) of a group of nonliterate and semiliterate adults in a small community. Brown's Town, Jamaica, was chosen as the area of the study because Jamaica is a Third World nation that has recently initiated a…

Three studies were conducted to determine the validity of the idea that adult literacy students have greater reading potential (and thus can learn in much shorter periods of time) than school children who score at comparable levels to the adults on standardized reading tests, and that adults are more efficient learners than such children. The…

This document, which is designed for adult literacy practitioners, differentiates between the different types of literacy, explains the principles of neurobiological learning and their relationship to the development of literacy and numeracy skills, and presents a neurobiology-based technique of literacy instruction. The differences between…

A study examined the sources of motivation of adults participating in the adult literacy program at the Bob Steele Reading Center (BSRC) in Hartford, Connecticut. The "life cycle" approach used to explore motivation throughout the stages of the literacy learning process included brief case studies focusing on the importance of socioemotional…

One of the most commonly used instructional methods in adult education is the small group. Small group learning is a staple of the adult education enterprise. Small groups are used in higher education, adult literacy and basic education, and many forms of training (Taylor, Marienau, & Fiddler, 2000). Some write solely about it (Brookfield…

This report considers the various facets of metacognition and their relation to adult literacy. The first section provides definitions of literacy and discusses the issue of single versus multiple factor hypotheses. The second section looks at the foundation of research on metacognition and literacy development in children. It examines whether…

This volume consists of four issues that present best practices, current research on adult learning and literacy, and how research is used. Issue 1(A) on adult multiple intelligences has seven articles: "MI (Multiple Intelligences), the GED (General Educational Development), and Me (Martha Jean); "Understanding Multiple Intelligences:…

A study of Hmong adult immigrants in a Hmong literacy class investigated four aspects of their learning behaviors: specific behaviors manifested in the literacy classroom; overt learning strategies used for literacy learning; major motivations; and specific uses for Hmong literacy skills. Data were gathered through observation, interviews,…

This study of social capital employs data from the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning (LSAL), funded by the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) and conducted at Portland State University to increase understanding of the learning process of adults with limited formal education. It provides longitudinal data on…

This study was undertaken to identify the reading strategies which facilitated or inhibited the progress of adult beginning readers (ABRs). An ethnographic approach was used so that factors influencing the ABRs' acquisition of these reading strategies could be identified. Using an adapted form of the Goodman and Burke taxonomy of oral reading…

A study examined the strategies and processes used by a sample of 33 Argentinean adults with little school experience to solve problems and acquire knowledge at work. A Piagetian methodological approach was used to observe adults in building, rural, and domestic work settings and to analyze empirical data regarding their behavior in task-oriented…